Another Old Men of the Mountain breakfast and again, the scribe was unable to attend. The first problem involved a painful shoulder, but a shot took care of this pain almost immediately. The second non-attended breakfast involved a bout with COVID (again).
The first time with the disease left this scribe battling blood clots on the lungs. Still trying to get rid of these clots and along comes another stretch with this disease.
This scribe is currently typing this while just finishing the 10-day quarantine and, except for feeling weak, feels pretty good, although tires easily. This scribe is fully boosted, and wears a mask almost religiously. Hmmm! Can one be almost religious?
The Old Men of the Mountain meet whether this OF is there or not; this time it was at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh, on Tuesday, Dec. 27, and thank goodness there are OFs who take attendance and supply a few notes.
This lets this scribe compose some sort of report on the OMOTM by using this information and a few selected old notes not used in other columns. This information and the names help keep bill collectors and truant officers away from the OFs at the current breakfast.
At the ages of most of the OMOTM, the blending of the years seems to just melt from one to the other with not much fanfare. The OFs are not much on resolutions; to the OFs, resolutions don’t seem to mean much and most gave up on them years ago. Never kept any anyway.
One OF mentioned that, to keep a resolution, if that is what you want to call it, takes more than one person; it takes at least two, maybe more, to keep the resolvee on the resolve. This makes sense.
One OF said, “When it comes time, years don’t seem to mean much; 2019 is no different than 2022. Even the news is the same, only the names are different.”
Another OF commented that one thing that does change is it gets easier to count friends and relatives because the number is lower. This OF was echoed by another OG who uttered, when it comes to gathering, it used to be weddings and births, now it is hospitals and funerals. What a cheery group that breakfast was.
What matters in life?
The OMOTM quite often speak about family and how important that is.
Some OFs say their family is spread all over the country, and a couple said their families are not only spread over this country but the world. Japan and Germany were mentioned as they used to draw people in the military and in some cases still do; now though it is jobs.
As the OFs age, to have family close by helps. None of the OFs want to go to the “home.” This is where family really helps.
One OF said the old saw about treating your kids right in the beginning is a good idea because they are the ones who are going to select the home they are going to pack the OF off too.
Another OF mentioned how they took care of their elderly parents, and now they are the elderly parents, and still have maintained the lifestyle that they are yet to be a burden to the kids.
Still another OF said his kids were such a PIA that he couldn’t wait to be a burden to them.
This little old-fashioned and long-held statement about kids being a pain this scribe thinks is just talk — the OFs should think about what kind of PIA they were to their parents.
One OF said that the big old farmhouses were meant for multiple families, and the old folks, including in many cases aunts and uncles, all lived and died in the same place and many were buried in family plots right there on the farm.
An OF took his crooked finger and waved it in the air and said we all strive to get old. The OF said we are preached to, to not smoke, and eat well, get plenty of exercise, and don’t drink all that stuff so we can live longer.
Well, I am here to tell you getting old ain’t fun. For what? So you can live in pain, can’t dress yourself; heck, if I knew then what I know now, the motto would be, “Hey, live life to the fullest, be happy, die young, and skip all this old-age crap.” (There ya go!)
Blizzard
The storm that hammered Buffalo was really bad; however, the OF mentioned our own blizzard on the Hill that hit us in the fifties. Just like the Buffalo storm, it was very local. You could drive a few miles and there was nothing.
“There was a big difference in this one,” an OF said. “Our storm affected few people but Buffalo is the state’s second largest city. That is a lot of people impacted by this weather.”
It seems no matter where the OFs run to, sooner or later a natural disaster of some sort is going to catch up with the OF.
The OFs made some comments on life as it is as they trotted to the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh, and the members of this happy group were: Miner Stevens, Jake Herzog, Roger Shafer, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Jack Norray, Lou Schenck, Herb Bahrmann, Paul Nelson, Roland Tozer, Warren Willsey, Russ Pokorny, but not me.
Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, is getting close to the end of the year and Christmas, and this year Hanukkah, then comes the New Year. It is party time, only the OFs are either too old to party, are partied out, or don’t care one way or the other.
It is another time of the year when priests, ministers, and rabbis should have their best sermons ready because it is also a time when there are more people in places of worship. On Tuesday morning, the Old Men of the Mountain did neither; they just had breakfast at the Chuck Wagon in Princetown.
A not too-much-talked-about medical situation, or maybe not at all up until Tuesday morning, was arthritis. It was found out that this aliment (or whatever it is called) is common among most all the OMOTM. This debilitating ailment doesn’t hide — it shows itself with lumps and bumps that at times hurt like a son of a gun.
Tuesday morning, it was found that, also with the ailment, there are so many cures, relief regimens, and soothing creams out there that these remedies can fill a pharmacy by themselves. This should give one pause that, if there are this many different rubs, creams, and pills, the people that don’t have arthritis yet are due to get it.
One OF mentioned that diet has a lot to do with getting the disease, but the other items filling the pharmacy are diet supplements, books, pills, and whatever other product the markets can come up with to use diet as a cure-all. Some may argue it is.
The OFs talking about arthritis have tried many forms of relief. One OF said he does the dishes because he gets relief from having his hands in the hot water. Another OF said it doesn’t work that way at his house because the dishes just get thrown in the dishwasher and, when the dishwasher is full, they run it.
Tylenol makes a pill just for arthritis but all Tylenol does is increase the amount of medicine in the pill.
Another OF said he has tried all those topical creams and none of them work, but he has found one that cuts the pain way down to just a minor hurt. That is a cream called CBD 600 [600 milligrams of cannabidiol], and the stuff really works, at least for him.
Travel plans
The OFs at our end of the table continued the discussion of Kitty Hawk, not so much going there as to when to travel. Travel off-season for the OFs looks like the way to go. The rates are less expensive, and the venues are less crowded.
The Kitty Hawk traveler said that, at the museum, their group had a tour guide almost all to themselves. The OF mentioned that there were only 12 people in his group instead of 300 to 350 people during the season.
One thing the OF mentioned that was a little unusual was that everything was open. Generally, in an off-season, many of the restaurants are closed as are the shops, and other things to do. But, as OFs, a good place to visit is one that has a few good restaurants open, plus the venues the OF planned on seeing. As far as this OF was concerned, all the other tilt-a-whirls, pool halls, and miniature golf courses can close down.
It is good to plan your travels when you are younger. The OFs say maybe in your sixties and early seventies. Once the eighties come along, so do a lot of aliments, one of which is mentioned above.
This really cuts down on the ability to move about with ease. This in no way means that, if the OF is on a ton of pills and using a walker, the OF should stay home, just be ready because the mind may say the OF can still jitterbug, or go horseback riding but the old body is not going to let either of those things happen.
Staying warm
One of many things that happen as the OFs age is the need to stay warm. That is why the Southwest and the Deep South are loaded with old people. It is hard for older people to keep warm.
The OFs who hang around in mountains during the winter are looking for ways to keep the ole homestead warm without having to jack up the heat. The price of heating oil, propane, gas, and electricity is climbing faster than the retirement plans and Social Security.
So that prompted a discussion on how to heat the cabin this winter. One OF said he is shutting off rooms and moving downstairs to close off the whole upstairs. Steps like this will help some.
This brought up the discussion on heat pumps. One OF was quite familiar with this method of heat because he uses heat pumps to warm his home. This OF discussed how they function and what different types there were.
One thing he did say was these types of units are not cheap. Another OF was keenly interested because they are in need of a new heating unit. Like many on the hill this OF lives in an old farmhouse. Any one in his situation has a lot to consider the way the economy is right now.
Those Old Men of the Mountain who are attempting to keep warm this winter and hang out in the Helderbergs just so they can go to breakfast with the Old Men of the Mountain were: John Muller, Jake Lederman, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Doug Marshall, Roland Tozer, Bill Lichliter, Frank Dees, Russ Pokorny, Roger Shafer, Jake Herzog, Rev. Jay Francis, Elwood Vanderbilt, Dave Hodgetts, Bob Donnelly, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Paul Whitbeck, Marty Herzog, Jim Rissacher, Dick Dexter, Frank Weber, John Dapp, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, and me.
The daylight hours are getting shorter; this means some of the Old Men of the Mountain are starting out in the dark. This Tuesday was Nov. 29 so for a few more weeks it will be darker still.
(Scribe’s comment: Just like we can’t make cold, we also can’t make dark. All we can do is take away heat for cold, and light for dark. What has that got to do with anything — hmmmm?)
This also means that, while driving to these early breakfast meetings, we see some autos coming toward us with white lights that are either not set right, or not dimmed. The OMOTM complain that, when meeting these vehicles in the opposite lane, they are blinded by these lights. Not all — just some.
On the way to the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh, the OFs feel it is a good thing this diner is in the country because not too many of these bright lights are met by the OFs.
In talking around the tables at home, the OFs are finding out it is not only the OFs who have this problem, it is the younger folks too. One OF reported that one of the young folks mentioned in conversation that he wonders how many accidents have been caused by these lights and it has been hushed-hushed.
Over and over, the OMOTM start harping about hearing aids. In the circle around this scribe sat five OFs (not counting the scribe himself) who either don’t wear their hearing aids in a crowd or try to hear over the noise that all the other chatter creates.
In the car, the OFs say, they hear the car, not the conversation. On the boob-tube, when watching sports, the OFs with the aids hear the crowd noises and not the commentators.
In a room with a fan or air-conditioner running, the OFs hear those appliances and not the conversations. Music sounds completely different. One OF said that, when he goes to the bathroom to tinkle, it sounds like Niagara Falls and he knows with his prostate problem this is not true.
What an invention the senses are! Sight, sound, touch, taste, and we can help some but certainly can’t duplicate them.
One OF added the word “yet.” He is a true optimist.
The cat’s meow
There was a discussion on cats, not the play but the animal. Most of the OMOTM have or have had cats.
Those on the farm had “cats” with a lot of plural esses. A couple of these made house cats and were pets with a question mark; the others were barn cats.
There was not much of a difference in who was in control between the house cat and the barn cats. The house cat could be petted if the cat wanted to be petted.
One OF said, “We don’t pet a cat; the cat lets us pet it. There is a difference.”
The barn cats for the most part could not be touched; there were a few at times that they would let the farmer do that but not many.
These cats were not mean, just really independent and, as long as these felines got their warm milk twice a day, they were really welcome to stay in the barn.
Some cats liked the milk squirted right from the cow to the cat. The cat would close its eyes and have milk dripping all over its face and the farmer could almost see the cat smile.
This scene has been mentioned before but was mentioned again at Tuesday’s breakfast, and that is the feeling of having one of the pleasant sensations on the farm in an early cold and frosty morning.
Upon opening the manger door and having the warmth and aroma of the barn greet the farmer, the cows would slowly stir awake and, from the hips of some of the cows lying down, a cat would also stir, stretch, and jump off the cow and then the cow would get up.
These cats would come from the manger, or the milk house, wherever the others hung out and then gather around the old milk-can covers waiting for the first splash of milk. Did the farmer mind all this?
Of course not, because the farmer did not have to deal with any rodents. The cats were pretty good workers and all they got paid was a quart of milk.
Toppers
The Old Men of the Mountain do not have any rituals or uniforms or anything like that, but they do have hats. The hats just have OMOTM in black letters across the front.
On Nov. 29, a few OFs wanted new hats, and some of the newer OFs wanted hats. Talk about inflation (and we do); the price of the hats has really gone up.
One OF said his hat was getting pretty grungy and he was thinking of getting a new one but, when hearing the price of the new one, he thought better of it, and said the hat can get grungier.
Hey, like an old pair of worn-out shoes, all scuffed up with no shine left fits better than any new pair that squeaks when the OF takes a step, the same sensation goes with a hat; an old comfortable hat wears better than a new one anyway.
One OF said, “I wish my wife would see it that way. Her motto is: Wear it once or twice or, if everybody has seen it, put it in the closet and get something new.”
Those Old Men of the Mountain who arrived at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh in their shiny new shoes, and new jackets (NOT) were: Doug Marshal, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Roland Tozer, Paul Nelson, Rev. Jay Francis, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, Russ Pokorny, Dick Dexter, Frank Dees, Gerry Chartier, Jake Herzog, Marty Herzog, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Herb Bahrmann, and me.
Tuesday, Nov. 15, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Your Way Café in Schoharie and as usual some of the OMOTM were there to open up the place.
On the rides to the restaurants, the OFs can’t help but notice kids out waiting for the bus. This brings back memories of the OFs doing the same thing.
Many of the OFs were up, in the barn doing chores, rushing in having breakfast, cleaning up so they did not smell like the barn, hurrying out to catch the bus to school, and then, when school was out, getting on the bus, going home, and doing the same thing all over.
At that time, about the only buses hauling the little darlings to school were the International K9s. Couldn’t kill these things and they were like tanks.
The roads were not taken care of like today, not for lack of trying, but the particular equipment to clear the roads was not around at that time. But, as one OF said, we did have our snow days; most of the OMOTM remember listening to Don Weeks read the school closings over the air.
In most cases, many of the OFs would rather be in school because good ole Dad had plenty of winter chores to do if the OFs were stuck at home. Most of the OFs remember their bus drivers but have forgotten many of their teachers.
Prices are
out of sight
The OFs generally in the morning greet one and all with civil greetings of good morning etc. However, the early-bird OFs on Tuesday morning were boisterous and demonstrative.
What is causing all this commotion is the price of everything! Gas, food, clothes, restaurants; everything is going out of sight. That is everything!
There was even the occasional fist-whacking the table to emphasize a point. This is one discussion the OMOTM did not fight about; there were no opposite opinions.
It is tough to have a good boisterous discussion last long when everyone is in agreement.
Competition would
be welcomed
This was followed by another conversation where there was basically total agreement and that being how useless Spectrum is. The problem here is, according to the OFs, there is no competition for Spectrum — it is either Spectrum or no one else.
One OF said the company knows it is in the driver’s seat and does not pay much attention to complaints.
Another OF said that he had to watch his bills all the time because they would sneak it a little bit higher every now and then for apparently no reason at all. Eventually, the OF said, he was paying 40 bucks a month more for the same service.
One OF said it is not the service guys because they seem to work their butts off. It is the office and business practices of the company with ads and sales pitches that are nothing like the services offered.
Another OF said, as much as we complain about government, this is one case where government is all we have to fall back on.
Then one OF commented that Spectrum is so entrenched the company is not afraid of government, just like National Grid. Both companies have a lock on it.
If one or the other screws up, who ya gonna call? It sure ain’t Ghostbusters.
Counting cars,
trucks, and tires
Here we go with OMOTM-type observations.
One OF reported that, while he was waiting in his vehicle for someone and he had nothing to do, he just started watching cars go by. The OF said he understands that white is the most common color on trucks or cars and he can attest to that now.
The OF said three cars and one pickup truck went by on the road in front of the parking lot and they were all white. This piqued his attention and the next seven vehicles that went by were all white, then a gray SUV, and one red pickup went by and spoiled the situation. He will try the observation another time.
Seven seems to be the number because another OF on a recent trip to Chicago said that he was on the Thruway and moving right along, but he found that at times on these interstates moving right along is not quick enough.
However, the OF said, a Volkswagen zipped right on by, then another vehicle passed and it too was a Volkswagen, and he was passed by yet another and it was a VW, then another. The OF said seven vehicles passed him — all VWs. The OF thought it was a delivery of some sort traveling together, but it wasn’t. Some had different plates, and he noticed some were even different years.
Then another OF said that, on Tuesday morning, just in front of the restaurant, he noticed that five multi-axled large trucks went by all in the same space. Two were headed north, and three were headed south, all from the same company.
The OF assumed that at that moment rolling in either direction, in the little town of Schoharie was one-half to three-quarters of a million dollars worth of truck almost in the same spot at the same time.
Multiply that by the whole world and just in trucks the zeros behind the figure one would make a heck of a lot of dollars just in trucks.
Then one typical wise guy OF piped up, “Yeah, how about all the tires in the world going around and around right now?”
The OFs were getting into numbers they couldn’t even say.
The Old Men of the Mountain who were approaching the point of serious blood-pressure numbers due to rising prices, and Spectrum’s dictator-type policies and who attended the breakfast at the Your Way Café in Schoharie were: Doug Marshall, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Joe Rack, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Roger Shafer, Rick LaGrange, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Rev. Jay Francis, Frank Dees, Russ Pokorny, Jake Herzog, Gerry Chartier, John Dap., Paul Guiton, Paul Whitbeck, Jack Norray, Dick Dexter, and me.
Tuesday, Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022, was a day for the Old Men of the Mountain going to the polls to exercise their right to vote. For the OMOTM, they considered it really exercise.
Exercise to the OFs generally is just taking a shower and getting dressed. When the OFs were younger, voting wasn’t so much exercise as it was a very important civic duty.
A couple of OFs mentioned that voting now means we have to sign our name with a stylus on some kind of screen. When the OFs said they write on one of those devices their signatures are no more like the way they really write than the man in the moon. (There is a common phrase that this scribe has no idea what it means.)
However, it is true. This scribe thinks if you just draw a straight line the electronic device will accept it.
Based on the wording, not showing up to vote is either a vote for or against; at the polls — to some — there is no such thing as a “no” vote. The only satisfaction is that, if things go wrong, the OF who didn’t vote can say he didn’t vote for it, him, or her.
That doesn’t help much was the reply. However, sometimes in the OF’s heart neither one running is worth the effort so the OFs say neither one is worth his vote. Now the OFs said they are stuck with voting in their mind for the person, or idea, that is the best of the worst and hope somehow it or they can be changed.
Then one OF said, “Once in office, always in.”
Whether good or bad, occasionally scandals or criminal acts can get the bad apple out, yet sometimes the rotten ones are the best for the country. Some guys are number-one womanizers, and get their exercise by chasing the ladies but still are great organizers and leaders.
One OF said, “Why is it always attributed to men? There are really smart ladies who do the same thing, and have the same leading qualities, and chase the guys the same way the guys chase the ladies.”
What a mess! At our ages, the OFs have seen this young country change over and over. The market goes up and down, depressions and recessions come and go, the years are hot and cold, the world is going to end in a few days — the OFs have seen it all but somehow nothing over all these years seems to change.
Things are just different every now and then, but change? The OFs think not.
Leaf conundrum
Along with the above talk about change, the OFs remember as kids, and even as adults, the pleasant aroma of burning leaves in the fall. Dad and the family would rake leaves along the yard to the edge of the driveway, or to the road, and on a relatively calm, dry day touch them off.
Some would rake up the ashes when they were cool and take them to the compost. Burn leaves now in many places and the neighbors rat on you, or the burn police spot the smoke and the OF gets a ticket for burning leaves.
Now in the suburbs they burn all that gas to come and suck these leaves up and haul them away. Then there is something that makes no sense at all.
“We cut down thousands of trees to make bags to put the leaves in,” one OF said. “Where in blazes do they think oxygen comes from?”
Maybe the OF has a lawn mower with a mulching gadget and mulches them. “Which,” one OF said, “is not a bad idea; it’s the only one that makes sense.”
One OF said he likes most of the seasons — even nice days in winter. This OF likes the end of the leaf season when the leaves are off the trees. The weather is still tolerable and he doesn’t mind being outside and with the leaves gone he can see deep into the woods.
The OF claims that, on some of his walks in the woods, he spots stone wall fences going nowhere. The OF said it is fun to try to imagine what was there to generate the building of these walls
It is quite nice on a fall day to take a walk in the woods and smell the new-fallen leaves, and hear the rustle of the small animals scurrying under these leaves as they forage for something to eat.
Blood moon
A few of the OFs were up early enough to see the full moon bright red. One OF mentioned it is called the “blood moon” for a reason.
Another OF said that some of the cameras on the cell phones are good enough to capture this phenomenon. With the price of some of the phones, one OF added the camera should be able to capture the moon people that live in the center of the moon opening the big doors to let their spaceships out.
“They can,” the OF retorted. “Why, those cameras are so good they can see the moon people out walking their dogs, and even so good you can see the breed of the moon dog.”
Those Old Men of the Mountain who made it to Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh and had to leave their moon dogs in the car to guard their moon pies were: Roger Shafer, Rick LaGrange, Doug Marshall, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Joe Rack, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Jake Herzog, Otis Lawyer, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Paul Whitbeck, Bob Donnelly, Allen Defazzo, Elwood Vanderbilt, John Muller, Paul Guiton, John Dap, Dave Hodgetts, Dick Dexter, Jack Norray, Frank Weber, and me.
The Old Men of the Mountain are starting a new month with breakfast at the Middleburgh Diner on Nov. 1, and it was unusually nice weather.
As most of the OFs said, we hope we can keep this up (nice weather) but deep down we know it isn’t going to happen. It is rare to see some people mowing their lawns in November.
This brought up conversations not only at this breakfast, but other recent breakfasts, about cold temperatures with snow flying and living in old houses. When the OMOTM speak of old houses, they are discussing homes 100 years old and older, none of these new residences.
The OFs speak of houses with histories and character that have proven the house can stand the test of time. The OFs are not too sure about some of the homes being built today.
One OF commented that he didn’t think it is the house as much as it is the people that live in them. The people that lived in the 100-year-old plus homes were tough, and they toughed out the winters. We can’t knock the houses of today unless we are here 100 to 150 years from now to check them out. To this OF, it seems that, if someone doesn’t take care of a mansion, it is going to fall down but, when someone takes care of a shack, it is going to last.
This brought up the construction of the new homes compared to the 100-plus-year-old homes. Insulation for homes 100 or 150 years ago was nothing like the homes of today. The OFs tied this in with the cold blast of winter. Back then, glass in the doors and windows were single-pane glass (double pane windows didn’t become popular until the 1970s) and still fluid, filled with bubbles and ripples.
One OF said storm windows weren’t even considered until much later when they were the type that hung on hooks and were taken down in spring, and put up in the fall.
What some of the OFs had were workable shutters that could be closed and heavy drapes that hung to the floor to keep out cold drafts. Sometimes the windows were so drafty on a windy day the OFs said the curtains and drapes would blow in the breeze.
Leaves and straw around the foundation was insulation. Of course mice and bugs liked this arrangement too.
The big farm house would shrink to just a few rooms during cold weather as other rooms were shut off. One OF mentioned that sleeping in one bedroom with his siblings at winter time was part of the shrinking process.
On many winter nights, there would be drifts of snow at some of the windows inside the bedroom. That did not bother us much because, even though the room wasn’t heated, we were all quite snug wrapped up in our feather ticks. In the morning though we did scurry downstairs to get dressed by the fire quickly, and then head out to the barn for chores.
“Today”, one OF said, “houses are so tight, the air inside is so unhealthy it is necessary to have air from the outside pumped in and purified.”
Another OF thought the OMOTM are the OMOTM because we had such a hard start early in life. This OF commented that these young whipper-snappers of today aren’t going to make it because they have not come into contact with germs like we used to, and they have not had the opportunity of building up natural antibodies to drive them off. These young-uns are too sterile.
Disappearing creatures?
The OFs had another observation of nature they talked about and that was the absence of snakes and a few other creatures that used to be common.
The OFs asked among themselves, “When was the last time you saw a snake?” and none could really put their finger on it. The consensus was years. Where did they all go, and why are they gone?
A few of the OFs attributed this transformation to hawks and other natural predators, while some said it was a change in the environment, like climate change. Some thought this was a bit radical but might be happening.
If the scribe remembers right, the OFs have gotten into a discussion like this before, only that time it was birds; however, birds entered this discussion too.
Another question was asked, “Does all this go together?” because one OF thought that even the nuisance insects seem to be fewer.
Some of the OFs never even thought about it; they claimed they don’t go out in the backyard looking for bugs and snakes. One OF said you can’t fool him; this OF says he has seen more stink bugs lately than he has ever seen. The OF also said a few years ago he never saw one.
“Well, with winter coming on,” he said, “all these critters are going to crawl into their holes, and hide in the cellars and attics until springtime. That will be the time to check it out. That is, if any of us with our great memories can remember to have this conversation again in April and May.”
This will give the OFs something to look forward to in the spring of 2023 — what is crawling in the grass and flying in our ears, nose, and eyes.
The OFs who are here because they were tough YFs in the thirties, forties, and fifties and who are now able to make it to the Middleburgh Diner were: Miner Stevens, Ted Feurer, Jake Lederman, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Jake Herzog, Frank Dees, Russ Pokorny, Gerry Chartier, Ed Goff, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Dick Dexter, Herb Bahrmann, John Dab, Paul Guiton, Rev. Jay Francis, and me.
The Old Men of the Mountain meet every Tuesday at one restaurant or another. The Tuesday for this week, on Oct. 25, was at the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown. Usually the OMOTM do not concern themselves with the cost of breakfast; however, in a few short months, it has jumped up considerably.
The OFs can understand this because the restaurant is at the end of the product line; all their costs have gone up and they can’t stay in business selling their product at cost or below. Now the OFs have to add the price of fuel (or call it energy) so the breakfasts are not as inexpensive as they once were.
This puts a little nick in the fun factor of gathering to enjoy each others’ company at least once a week to leave some of the cares, aches, and pains behind for a little while.
One OF related the current upward spiral of pricing on one factor: energy.
Other OFs based it on supply and demand. Some said the Covid pandemic played quite a role in the whole thing by lack of workers to produce necessary products and that contributed to lack of supply to common demand.
One OF thought the catching up is slower than thought, while another OF said the pandemic is not over. Then one of the nonagenarians (now that this scribe is very close to becoming one himself, the scribe loves using that word) just muttered, “So what else is new? … Been through them before,” and took another bite of his omelet.
Death is a sneaky S.O.B.
Then the subject of nursing homes, and apartment living came up and not many of the OFs were happy with either one. Nursing homes were out, according to the OFs.
The Eskimo practice of putting the OFs on an ice floe and shoving them out to sea was not a bad idea. One OF said he thought this was just folklore and never really did happen, but he too agreed with the idea and thought it is better than a nursing home.
An OF wondered why, when we did what we were sent here to do, didn’t we just fall asleep and not wake up. Like one of the founders of this group did. His name was Herbie, and Herbie felt fine, went to bed, and never woke up.
This scribe could vouch for that because just a couple days earlier this scribe and Herbie were out in the shop, making a huge frame for a very large map. He was fine then and even the next day when checking to see if the frame was OK.
Another OF commented that, if that is the way it was going to be, it would be necessary to keep all your businesses in order all the time. Nah! This was the answer for any one of us because the OFs could leave here this morning and be squashed by a run-away bulldozer. None of us really knows when we will be called up yonder.
That ain’t exactly true came an answer. If you killed your mother-in-law because she ticked you off too many times and you got the death penalty for doing it and the day was a given, you definitely knew when and how. No matter how you look at it, Death is a sneaky S.O.B.
Winter winds
Now the subject of winter came up and the winds of winter became our apprehension. Insulation of our homes was the topic of concern.
Many of the OFs live in, or have lived in, older homes. By older, in our conversation, it meant older like over 100 years.
Insulation at that time was considered, but the technology of today was not even around to produce the products that insulate the homes in the year of 2022.
Back then, glass was still full of bubbles, and rippled. The use of only one pane of glass was used with old-fashioned putty that hardened.
As one OF said, storm windows weren’t considered until much later. On his home, there were workable shutters that could be closed during cold, wintry blasts. Included with this were heavy drapes that were pulled shut to keep out the cold drafts.
The OF said he piled straw and leaves around the foundation to keep out some of the cold. Though the house was large, in the wintertime many rooms were shut off until springtime.
One OF mentioned he used to sleep in the same bedroom along with his brothers in the winter. Again, as with the other OF, the house was large, but in the winter it shrunk.
On many winter nights, the OF said there were drifts of snow at some of the windows inside the house, but that did not seem to bother us because we were all quite snug, wrapped up in our feather ticks. In the morning though, we did scurry downstairs to get dressed by the fire rather quickly, because we had to get to the barn for chores.
“Today,” one OF said, “houses are so tight and the air inside is so unhealthy, it is necessary to have air from outside pumped in and purified.”
Another OF thought that the OMOTM are the OMOTM because we had the start that we had, and this OF didn’t think these young whipper-snappers are going to make it because they have not had the experience of contacting many germs and building up natural antibodies to drive them off. These young-uns are too sterile.
The Old Men of the Mountain who shook out of their cozy beds in their toasty homes and made it to the Chuck Wagon Diner through the fog so thick some drove beyond the place because they could not see it, were: Rick LaGrange, Wayne Gaul, Ted (the hat) Feurer, Miner Stevens, Doug Marshall, Harold Guest, Wally Guest, Paul Whitbeck, Jake Herzog, Marty Herzog, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Paul Guiton, Jeremiah Hebring, Bob Donnelly, Elwood Vanderbilt, Allen DeFazio, Dave Hodgetts, Dick Dexter, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Tim Norray, Herb Bohrmann, and me.
Tuesday, Oct. 18, was a rare day because the Old Men of the Mountain locale had not lost the beautiful colors of fall to either being blown off, or taken down by a hard rain shortly after showing off their colorful foliage for this fall season. This year, the weather hung in there for quite some time so the Old Men of the Mountain could get out (along with many others) and enjoy the show.
On Tuesday, the OMOTM drove to Schoharie to have breakfast at the Your Way Café while it was still dark. Along with the early morning dark and the sun just waking up, there was not much to see outside the range of the headlights, but going home from the Your Way Café the OFs were able to drive through tunnels of color.
Lithium batteries
One OF gave what was like a report or a lecture on how lithium batteries were made and what went into making one. If the source of information is legit, and it seems so, this type of battery manufacturer uses pretty nasty stuff to produce one.
Seems like the same battle between the biggies and who has the most clout politically because money was not the problem. For instance, Firestone and Ford argued about what material they should use to make tires.
Ford again and farmers disagreed with the steel companies on what to make car bodies out of, soybeans or steel. Tesla and Edison bickered on whether to use AC or DC; no matter what the world choices are, the world just keeps rolling along.
The OF’s dissertation was interesting. The OFs do talk about things other than old cars, trucks, farms, and machinery.
Westinghouse
Schenectady had very interesting early inhabitants. Edison, Steinmetz, Westinghouse — and one OF at the breakfast was quite familiar with Westinghouse. The birthplace of George Westinghouse was in Old Central Bridge in Schoharie County.
Westinghouse was the inventor of the air brake and, as this OF resided in Central Bridge for some time, he knew a lot about Westinghouse. The OF is quite a historian and is reasonably versed on the history of the locality.
Revolutionary raids
Talking about Westinghouse led to another discussion on little-known history. One OF discussed the Brant raid on Schoharie County during the American Revolution.
The fertile land of the county was very important to the Revolution especially in supplying food to George Washington and his army. Brant subsequently burned many of the homes and crops during raids on the county.
This is well-known history but the rest of the story is not. The OFs talking about all this were in agreement that most of the wooden homes were burned; however, the buildings of stone or brick were left standing.
These included the Reformed Church (Old Stone Fort) and George Mann’s residence (George Mann Tory Tavern), which were spared basically because of what (or who) they were, and the construction of the buildings.
One wooden building was spared because of who lived in that building and were neither Tories nor revolutionaries. The building housed slaves who worked the land and the Indians did not burn this place.
The way the OFs explained it is that now the building is being restored and has not been visible because of the vegetation that had grown around it. This undergrowth has been cleared and the structure is now visible.
A true split-rail fence has also been constructed around the site. This scribe cannot find this on Google to check it out but it seems these OFs know all about it and they are from the area. Sounds plausible, and similar to the Schenectady massacre.
Social Security
Of course, a concern to all the Old Men of the Mountain is Social Security. At this time of such high inflation and prices on many items, which seem to be going up daily, the OMOTM have had to cut back on items that are to some necessities, like medicines, and groceries, throw in gas to get to treatments, and any little extra they can get helps.
The OFs understand Social Security is supposed to go up 8.7 percent in 2023. The OFs don’t want to wish their life away but they would like to see 2023 get here in a hurry.
The OFs think they will have to see how things work out for 2023, or even late 2022, to see what the inflation rate will be like. One OF said right now he does not think the 8.7 is going to cut the mustard.
Although the OF also added he is not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The OF said he is too old, hurts too much, and he has no idea how the new technology works to get another job to augment his income.
Besides, the OF said, it now takes him two to three hours just to get dressed in the morning and sometimes he says he announces to himself, “To heck with it” and mogs around in his slippers, PJs, and bathrobe all day and has a good time doing it.
“Saves gas,” the OF said. “If Walmart would let greeters dress like that, I might consider taking a job there.”
Then another OF said, “Hey, dressed like that you would be considered an elite some of the getups the people at Walmart wear.”
The OFs want to show up at the Your Way Café in Schoharie in their Hydrogen fuel-celled powered vehicles and do away with all the lithium, and fossil fueled stuff and these Old Men of the Mountain were: Doug Marshal, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Roger Shafer, Joe Rack, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Paul Nelson, Miner Stevens, Rick LaGrange, Wayne Gaul, Ted Feurer, Jake Herzog, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, Duncan Bellinger, Marty Herzog, Paul Whitbeck, Pete Whitbeck, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Paul Guiton, Lou Schenck, Herb Bohrmann, Rev. Jay Francis, Steve Vanderbilt, and me.
The Enterprise — Marcello Iaia
Not only are the businesses in Middleburgh decorated for Halloween, the houses are too. This display is reminiscent of “The Little Shop of Horrors.”
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022; can the holidays be far behind? Just six short weeks away is Thanksgiving — OK plus a few days. Then always four short weeks away from that is Christmas, then one week until New Year’s.
The words to September Song now mean a lot. Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few and, as we age, the days seem to have only 12 hours in them; they just fly by. However, the Old Men of the Mountain still manage to gather and, on the 11th, the OMOTM gathered at Mrs. K’s restaurant in Middleburgh.
The days are really getting shorter with their daylight hours until Dec. 21/22 and then they will start going the other way. With only 12-hour days, those days of December arrive much sooner. Is that a plus?
The OFs discussed distances; this scribe has this one note in his little notebook and all it says is “distances.” The reason for this word was discussion of the strange sensation that familiar ways seem shorter.
The OFs thought this was odd but, to all of the ones in on this part of the conversation, it was true. Google or the GPS may send the OFs on a different route, which in miles and time is shorter, but not familiar, and for some reason it seems when using these directions the OF is going all around cock robin’s barn to arrive at the OF’s destination.
When checking the clock and odometer, it was quicker and shorter but did not seem like it was. The familiar way seemed quicker and shorter; however, it wasn’t. One OF said he hates it when Google is right.
Another OF commented he travels to the same places quite often and sometimes it is so automatic he finds himself pulling into the parking lot and has no recollection of the drive over. The OF said his wife piles into the vehicle and said we are going to Kohl’s. OK, the OF says, and that is when it happens.
All of a sudden, the wife is getting out of the car at Kohl’s — what happened to all the time? The OFs said they do it so often they just wonder what goes on between the house and their familiar destination. I didn’t hit anybody with my car so I had to be conscious, the OF said; the time is just lost. To this OF, time and space is just a matter of consciousness.
Oct. 31st is Halloween. Halloween, for some reason, is just a day but, with all the parties and hoopla about the day, it should be designated a national holiday.
Now, there is a cause the OFs could champion. “All Hallows Eve Day” we would call it, and the OFs are sure they could get the backing of all the card, candy, and costume companies behind them.
The OFs commented on how the streets of Middleburgh were decorated with scenes in front of each business. There was a theme and each business expressed their idea of the theme with scenes made from straw and costumes. Worth a trip just to check them out and vote for which one in your opinion was best.
Heavenly diner
Every now and then, a new list of the OMOTM with phone numbers and emails is composed. This was a good time to collect the information to update the list.
The snowbirds have not flown, and the summer travelers for most part are back so the list was sent around to the OFs for any changes or updates. In going over the list sent around, the OFs noted how many on the old list are no longer with us but instead are with the OFs on the restaurant cloud in the sky doing the same thing. They are probably looking down on the OFs at Mrs. K’s.
Hunter’s moon
The use of conversations about the drive to the restaurants is quite often. This is not unusual because sometimes the ride over has interesting events happen.
The ride home cannot be reported on because how is the scribe going to gather any information unless he is at each OF’s home when they get there? This breakfast, it was the hunter’s moon and how bright it was.
Some OFs encountered fog, then nothing, but the moon was so bright it could light the way at night, then fog again. All in all, it was going to be a nice day.
Mystery word
Another stand-alone word on the scribe’s pad is “west.” Now that rings no bells.
It is a good thing this scribe is not a regular reporter. The scribe’s notes many times are rather skimpy and don’t jog too much in the way of worthwhile information.
Is west because of the sun, or “go west ,young man, go west,” or is it even west? Maybe it should be “rest.”
Who knows? This scribe’s writing is getting pretty ugly with all the arthritis. Maybe it is a good thing real reporters use recorders.
The Old Men of the Mountain who arrived at Mrs. K’s Restaurant in Middleburgh and, as the warlocks they are, parked all their brooms outside where the decorations were already there so these brooms weren’t even noticed. The coven was already underway and the attendees were: Rick LaGrange, Roger Shafer, Joe Rack, Doug Marshal, Glenn Patterson, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Ted Feurer, Jake Herzog, Jake Lederman, Bill Lichliter, Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Warren Willsey, Russ Pokorny, Frank Dees, Ed Goff, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, Elwood Vanderbilt, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, Paul Guiton, Duncan Bellinger, Paul Whitbeck, and me.
Once upon a time (which now seems a long time ago but then again it is not so long ago) a few at that time not so old, Old Men of the Mountain would gather in the kitchen of one of the OMOTM. The wife of this OF got tired of this and refused to keep serving these OGs coffee and kicked them out of the house.
The OFs milled around outside and came to a serious conclusion: “Now what?”
The OFs (not really old yet) piled into one of the OF’s vehicles and headed off to a restaurant so they could still be waited on for their cups of coffee. This turned into a really good idea, and it appeased the old lady because the OFs were out of the house, out from underfoot, and she could have a relaxing cup of coffee without having to listen to these old guys lie to each other.
This Tuesday, Oct. 4, the anniversary of the infamous October snowstorm, the Old Men of the Mountain met at the Middleburgh Diner in Middleburgh where they now had started to gather around 7 a.m. instead of 9:30 or 10 like in the beginning.
The original group was small, retired, and easygoing, but as more friends joined the fraternal brothers of OFs they had things to do and places to go, so the original OFs acquiesced to the OFs who had things to do and places to go and started meeting earlier.
Eventually, the OFs were at the doors of some of the restaurants, waiting for them to open up. The old farmer conditioning had kicked in. To many, the sliding back of the manger door, the lowing of the cows, was a pleasant call to the early hours of the morning.
Judging Judge
Now, not many of the OMOTM are farmers, but there are a few who know what all this means, because at the breakfast this past Tuesday morning, one of the first topics was, “When was Aaron Judge going to hit number 62?”
As of Tuesday morning’s breakfast, this achievement had not yet been done. Some thought that, because of the pressure, Judge was way off his stride and wasn’t going to make it, while others felt some pitcher was going to make a mistake and cough one up close to where Judge could at least get part of the barrel of the bat on it and would hit number 62.
Some would just like to see him hit the ball and get the batting title.
Ian hits home
The OFs discussed Hurricane Ian in Florida for quite some time and how it impacted that area so badly. Some of the OFs had property in the locations where the storm hit.
One even showed pictures of his condo reduced to rubble.
Another OF owned property at one time, and then that got into a legal mess and does not know if he still owns it or not. Nothing has ever been done with it, and the OF said now he is glad they never built on it. The land is still that — just land. The plot is in what would be a suburb of Englewood.
Many of the OFs have friends or relatives smack-dab in the middle of where this hurricane came inland. Sanibel/Captiva, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, and Rotunda were some of the places mentioned and, from all appearances, these places took a direct hit.
One OF said, “We have our blizzards but I will take them in place of a hurricane like this thing was.”
Another mentioned we had Irene, but even though that was bad and many people lost a lot, it was nothing compared to what the hurricane in Florida did. Not only this one but hurricanes in general do a great deal of damage. Andrew was another, which hit Homestead, Florida in 1992, and was the costliest until Ian came along.
Blizzards, the OFs seem to be able to battle, but they certainly are not looking forward to the next one.
Gender issues with naming
Since we were talking about disasters, how about all these fires? It seems Mother Nature has quite a repertoire: fire, wind, and water seem to be her arsenal.
How about, now that it has been determined nature is a woman, there can be a whole lot of shaking going on. Yeah, if that lady wants to let us know who is in charge, Mother Nature has all the weapons.
Who gave God the masculine nomenclature when it is Mother Earth, Mother Nature, and to cap it off ships, planes, trains, and cars, etc. are generally called “she?” It seems somewhere we got this naming thing wrong.
Inflation questions
With winter coming on, the price of heating fuel came up.
One OF asked, “How come fuel oil is more than gasoline?”
This OF said his last oil bill was over $800. Who has this kind of money?
Then an OF asked another question, “Who is getting all this money?”
The questions kept coming. One asked how can groceries jump so much so fast? One week Gatorade is $5.49 the next it is $6.49, and muffins are four for $4.69 one week and the next week the same muffins are $5.69. This rip-off money is going somewhere.
One OF said we should watch for the politicians building mansions and buying yachts; there has to be a bottom to the hole all this money seems to be thrown into. There the big-shot politicians are waiting, one OF commented, not the elected officials that we work with every day.
Some of those take every cent they can and give it away to those that really need it. When and where this changes the OF didn’t know, and with some it never does.
Those Old Men of the Mountain who would like to manage the Yankees and make what a big league ball player makes (and that is any kind of ball, basket, tennis, foot, whatever) had breakfast at the Middleburgh Diner and they were: Marty Herzog, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Wayne Gaul, Ted Feurer (who has hiked 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail), Robie Osterman, George Washburn, Bill Lichliter, Jake Herzog, Duncan Bellinger, Rev. Jay Francis, Lou Schenck, Jack Norray, and me.